JusticeMakers Fellows around the World

Map of our Justice Makers Fellows. Click on one of the markers to see more info about them.

For the 2017 JusticeMakers Competition for Prevention of Torture in Francophonie Africa, IBJ awarded 10 dedicated lawyers, human rights defenders and legal activists with Fellowships to prevent torture and advance access to justice in their communities. The 2017 JusticeMakers Competition was financed by Global Affairs Canada.

For the 2015 IBJ ASEAN Youth JusticeMakers Competition, IBJ awarded $5,000 of funding to following four applicants for their innovative legal reform projects targeted to strengthen the applicant’s local criminal justice system in the ASEAN reagion. This competition was sponsored by the National Youth Council of Singapore and apVentures.apVentures.apVentures.apVentures.

For the 2014 JusticeMakers Competition, IBJ awarded $5,000 of funding to nine promising applicants for their innovative legal reform projects targeted to strengthen the applicant’s local criminal justice system. It is noteworthy that IBJ has once again awarded four Fellowships to projects focusing on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and the criminal justice system in partnership with the Levi Strauss Foundation.

In 2012, in partnership with the Levi Strauss Foundation, IBJ awarded 12 $5,000 grants to innovative community activists with projects that improve the lives of people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS within the criminal justice system. Fellows came from 10 countries on 4 continents and presented diverse and creative ideas to solve the problems that they saw in their communities.

During the the 2011 JusticeMakers Competition, IBJ awarded $5,000 in seed funding to ten applicants for their innovative legal reform projects pertaining to issues present within the applicant’s local criminal justice system. Winners of the Competition are from Latin America, Africa and Asia. As a special theme for this Competition, IBJ also awarded three Fellowships to projects focusing on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and the criminal justice system in partnership with the Levi Strauss Foundation.

IBJ, in tandem with the Lien Center for Social Innovation, awarded $5,000 in seed funding to twelve applicants for the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition. The 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Fellows received additional training at the Singapore Criminal Justice Training Center from August 11-16, 2010.

IBJ’s inaugural competition in 2008 saw defenders, human rights officers, and public officials from 30 countries propose innovations seeking to curb torture and legal abuse. Project ideas tackled a range of existing problems in one’s legal system by seeking to alleviate these issues through a variety of innovative ideas – including a grassroots monitoring system of police abuse, seeking reparations for victims of abuse in detention centers and holding workshops to raise public awareness of individual rights. In the final selection process, eight fellowships were awarded to projects that exhibited the most relevancy, efficacy, practicability, and sustainability.

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In recognition of the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is dedicated to protecting the basic legal rights of individuals in developing countries. Specifically, IBJ works to guarantee all individuals the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial.